A/N: Wow, it's been quite a while since I worked on this story! I guess I got kind of overwhelmed with work and schooling. Sometimes real life's gotta take precedence, you know? But regardless of that, I finally managed to get this chapter done! There were several times where I just lost my muse and couldn't think of a way to make the story work, but I was fortunate enough to finally find it with the advent of Star Wars Episode VII, but I'll save my reviews about that for another time. And speaking of reviews... Thanks to those who spoke up last chapter and talk to me about what they liked and disliked; Blazeknight26, Blazeknight26, Sage of wind Dragons, Reven 6666, RyunUchiha, Ookami88, DaOneInDaCorner, cavefox, anonomas, and Tsamoka.

Now then, I believe the patient have waited long enough; their reward is thus: let the chapter begin!

Chapter Two,
Rage, Storm, Rage

"I can't say there was a definitive moment when I knew what I was doing. I mean sure, at some point it finally hit me that I was suddenly a part of something. But it kind of came out of no where. I was just an apprentice. A Sith wannabe with a narrow view of the world. Everyone's got those moments, you know? When you suddenly remember some part of your life that makes you just... cringe at the memory. There were a lot of wasted opportunities back then. A lot could have been prevented if I'd been more level-headed, if I'd been more aware, more keen. But what did I care? Even while at war with the Republic, the galaxy was my oyster. I could do whatever I wanted by reputation alone, and whoever stood in my way was a fatality waiting to happen."

- Naruto Uzumaki

The whip of sand against his face forced the young dark apprentice to raise an arm in defense against the offending wind. His dry, squinting eyes could just barely see through the mild sandstorm ahead. Any ordinary being might have tried waiting out the storm, or perhaps taking a specially modified speeder to travel through or even over it. But he was no ordinary being, and he'd be damned if he had to sit cooped up in a speeder for a few hours. Annoyance was one thing, but that didn't tickle his dark fancy. At the very least, his irritation toward the sands around him easily converted to hatred, which allowed him to meditate on his emotions in the only way he could.

He seethed.

He didn't often need to, since he almost always had something to yell at, punch, slice, maim, or just flat out murder back on Dromund Kaas. Not that he was the most powerful Sith, by far. Even he knew that he had a lot to learn before he could compete with individuals on the level of the Dark Council. He just hated the concept of practice. Doing the same thing over and over in order to hone that skill to a fine point... He'd much rather just do what his instincts told him too. If a thousand days of practice caused him to ignore his instincts and ended up getting him killed because of it, he'd die with his middle finger to everyone who said it was important.

Or his ghost would haunt them until they met with an unfortunate accident. Yeah, that was probably more likely.

But as much as he hated it, he knew it, or at least certain aspects of it, were necessary. Training his hate was one of those aspects that he felt was understandably important, as as little as he actually did, he practiced it most of all. It was annoying to do, as his hate came mostly from either pain or irritation. Not being much of a masochist himself, the only other easy path to his hate was, regrettably, irritation. Which was, ironically, irritating.

'Those two fucking suns must be baking my brain,' thought he. With grunt, he fished out his datapad and pressed a key on it's screen. A map sprung to life, blinking and flickering with static. Or was that just sand rushing past his vision. He gave it a shake, futilely hoping that would do the trick, which it didn't. Regardless, the location on the map wasn't too far from him, which meant he was coming up on the Mandalorian hideout.

Dakal had said the Czerka Corp facility was supposedly nearby the enclave headquarters. However, that didn't help pinpoint it's location at all. Whatever happened with the Mandalorians, he'd have to find the facility on his own. And fuck if that didn't just ruin his day!

He blinked out of his thoughts, the shifting sands in his vision clearing slighty. The ping on the map beeped steadily relative to his position. He was close.

A flash of red caught his eyes, too fast for a normal organic to react to. He fell to the ground, head low, mouth snarling. Blaster fire from the dunes ahead, likely an enclave patrol. Well, it wasn't like they knew he was coming, and there were lots of vicious critters on the planet that they might mistake him for. But he didn't have patience for this, not after the day he was having.

Crawling on all fours, but fast as a jungle cat, he advanced low. More blaster fire poured out from in front of him. Four, maybe five sources. A thump and a rapid beeping drew his attention to the ground beside him.

"Shi-!"

The explosion didn't even phase them as they immediately checked for signs of the intruder. Stepping forward carefully, the armored commandos kept their carbines up, sweeping the ten feet they could see in front of them. The only way they'd even known where the intruder was was thanks to the vast array of senors placed in and around the facilities perimeter. Plugging those into their helmets gave them a top down view of the battlefield based on those instruments' readings. plugging those into a short-ranged GPS, their range-finders could simulate the target's position in first person. Sandstorms were dangerous for everything on this planet, except them. Mandorlorians found little else besides themselves dangerous.

"Anything?" Came the voice of their squad leader through their comm channel.

"Nothing yet," a second replied.

The third voice was more confident than the the first two. "That grenade was on point. No way it survived."

"Find a body. Or at least what's left of it," the first ordered.

She remained silent. As the fourth member of Hyenax fireteam, she was also the youngest, and the only female. She would be the first to admit, she wasn't exactly prime Mandalorian material; she didn't have the confident spunk most others did. Being a woman among a primarily male-dominated military unit wasn't actually as big an issue as it might have otherwise been in other organizations, but that was only as long as others saw your strength and respected you. Over time, she cunningly learned that silence itself can be quite intimidating and a great substitute for the visible brazenness she lacked. It actually worked out for her well; it allowed her to focus on her own thoughts and her work. No one talked much to her, save a passing tease or joke, which was normal.

But being a Mandalorian was all she knew; her team was her life. It may have been some of that pseudo-familial instinct that caused her to stop; caused her to call out. "Wait, something's not right."

She couldn't exactly place the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, or the lurching weirdness when the feeling grew stronger.

The fireteam did as commanded, heeding their teammate's warning. "What's the matter?" a voice asked her.

She shook her head in confusion and furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not sure, I-"

Wait. That voice didn't come from her helmet...

A geyser of sand erupted beside the lead unit, birthing a black silhouette that descended on him, a crimson beam of light visible with almost perfect clarity, even within the storm. The sound of a lightsaber's ignition was one of the most easily recognizable in the galaxy.

At any other time, she might have raised her weapon and fired, but the trademark red of her assailant's weapon marked him as Sith. Sith were their allies. She couldn't shoot her allies... could she?

"Gaah!"

She blinked back to attention just in time to see the shape tackle her teammate to the ground, bring his saber up and stabbing it easily through the segments of his Mandalorian battle armor.

She might have cried out the man's name, but her training came to the forefront of her mind and she fired her weapon. "Allies" be damned.

The glowing blade whirled and weaved, easily visible, even though it's owner wasn't. Just watching the thing bounce around revealed how agile this Sith was. Avoiding the explosion by burrowing in the sand... and then springing from it to ambush them like a human sand-worm? She might not have had any experience fighting Sith, but she had a pretty good idea that wasn't how Sith were taught to fight. She would have expected him to throw the detonator away with his weird magical powers. Oh, or lightning. She always wanted to see if Sith could actually shoot lightning from their hands!

The lightsaber danced around, spinning in the air, which she supposed must have been the Sith spinning in the air. Even with jetpacks, her teammates couldn't out-run it; it's saber seemed to slash around aimlessly, but always managing to catch a bolt of plasma that might have gotten too close for comfort, or nicking their armor when it just missed their limbs.

Crouching down, she primed her pack and aimed. With a braced grunt, the singular rocket launched from her back, impacting at the feet of the Sith and sending flames spewing in the wind.

She raised her head carefully, noting the lack of a lightsaber's hum.

A hesitant, "I think you got him," was followed by a vocal roar as a pair of hands reached up through the sand and pulled another one under like it was quicksand.

"Quoro!" She'd only had a couple seconds to squeeze off a few shots, most scorching the sand. One of them might have hit, but she wasn't sure. Her chest ached, her focus dropping just enough for her to realize how hard her chest was beating against her ribs. A shadow burst from the sand in front of her, a leg shooting out to kick her weapon away. She grunted as she reflexively took a step back, spotting her last remaining teammate turn and draw a bead on their attacker.

He was absent his lightsaber, but the smirk on his face, which seemed to eerily stand out against his silhouetted body seemed to do more to fill her with concern than comfort. With a swing of his arms and the ominous snap-hiss of his lightsaber, the red beam of light pierced through her comrade's back, the blade exiting through his chest and slicing into the gun he held. There was only a moment of hesitation before the blade was pulled through him and into the waiting had of her would-be killer. Her friend's body fell to the ground with a clatter, lifeless.

She barely had time to breath before she felt a strong impact on her chest-plate, the force knocking her off her feet completely. She was only on her back for a moment as she scrambled to rise. But no sooner had she lifted her head when she felt the singing heat of his blade pressed close to her neck, one of his boots pressing down against her chest.

The wind lightened a little, and the sand around them seemed to thin, letting more of the abominable suns' light filter through the storm. She was able to make it out slightly now... her attacker's face that is. He was a young man. Younger than she'd expected from someone who'd just slaughtered a squad of Mandalorian commandos. But his blissfully aggressive face seemed to contrast with his age. Did he love fighting? No child that young should love fighting that much. 'So, this is a Sith...?' she wondered in a daze. On instinct, the jets of her pack ignited, sending her skidding across the sand in a blink.

But her smirk of victory was short lived as the boy reached out his hand, and in an instant, she felt as if her entire being was suddenly squeezed by a vice. With a tug of said outstretched hand, she lurched forward, back towards him. Her neck hit his open hand hard, causing her to cough, or at least try to. Her eyes bugged out of her head as she fought to inhale against his grip. Failing that, she growled and slammed her right arm up into his elbow, hopefully breaking it in the process. But, sadly, though she felt his hand leave her neck, she didn't hear or feel the satisfying pop of dislocated joints.

He snarled and angled his saber to slash across her breastplate. For any other weapon, it wouldn't have done more than scratch the heavy metal, but a lightsaber was different. Even beskar iron, resistance as it was to a lightsaber's heat, could melt if given enough time and exposure. Clasping her left hand on her right wrist, she pressed the trigger thereon, spewing a white stream of flames from her flame-sprayer. He recoiled and shielded his face from the blast.

She grinned, pressing forward. Even if he was a Sith, she was a Mandalorian; a member of a proud, longstanding tradition equal to the Sith. She was as much a force to be reckoned with as he was!

She was startled however, when he also pressed forward. As she watched, star-struck with wonder, the flames seemed to wash against his palm, covering, but not burning it.

"Eh...?"

His hand clasped her wrist and squeezed, hard. The sprayer crumpled and shorted out, gas squealing from tiny fractures in the internal tubing. She grunt as a small explosion burst from her arm, the micro-tanks rupturing and scorching her armor. The resulting pain echoed down her hand into her wrist and elbow. She stumbled back, clutching her injured limb tightly, trying to squeeze away the pain.

She moaned painfully, blinking back to the Sith even as he approached, his clothes slightly singed but otherwise no worse for wear. He raised his saber arm high into the air, the ominous crimson blade humming in anticipation.

"But..." she mumbled in a dismal stupor as she lay there, her eyes moistening gently. "...Where's the lightning...?"

The blade crashed down. She looked away.

"I'm not saying we should blow all our money, I'm just saying I think I deserve a little compensation here."

Karin groaned as Suigetsu continued to argue, going on as he had for the past half an hour, about why he deserved what she considered to be an ungodly amount of money. But what irritated her the most wasn't the fact that he was so brazen as to ask for it, but that Sasuke seemed to actually be considering his proposal.

"You're not seriously going to let him, are you?" she asked incredulously, the black haired boy turning to eye her.

"His idea has merit."

"That's it?" Karin asked after a short pause. She was expecting a "but" in there somewhere! "You can't get more unreasonable than this! Spending our hard earned-"

"-Stolen-"

"-Earned-," she glared at the other boy for a moment to force her point. "Our hard earned money on something as ridiculous as, and I quote, 'a giant-ass sword?'"

Suigetsu growled at the red-headed girl sourly. "For your information Karin, my people are master bladesmen. We're trained from birth to hold a sword. My brother started his training when he was three; me when I was five. The average age is ten years old, which means, F.Y.I., that I'm a fucking genius." He thumbed his chest proudly, satisfied with his own repertoire.

"Not to mention my specialty in fighting saber-wielding foes. Any other Sith my age wouldn't stand a chance against real Jedi, but I've already killed three on my own!"

"No one is denying your skill Suigetsu," the raven haired boy commented silencing his compatriot's tirade. "It's those skills that brought you to my attention in the first place. The only thing I question is whether this investment will be worth the payout."

"My people's blade-smiths are some of the best in the galaxy. They use more than just fire and steal to forge a weapon," Suigetsu grumbled. "If we can get the proper materials, then they can make a sword that will be the envy of every swordsman in the galaxy."

"And... the size?"

Suigetsu's eyes turned to the fourth member of their group who spoke, Juugo. Juugo was, for all intents and purposes, a kind soul unfit for either the title or life of a Sith. However, Suigetsu knew that that was just the outside. Inside, the man was an absolute monster, with a unique connection to the Dark Side he'd never fully understand. In fact, all of them, in one form or another, had unique traits that set them apart from other Sith hopefuls.

Karin, a red-headed orphan with decent looks, a bad attitude, and an obsession with their team leader, was capable of messing with people's heads, controlling the weak-willed and reading their minds. She could even cloud their vision, be it in the Force or in the physical world. But her true talent lie in the raw Force energy seeping from her very skin. Rumor had it that her master experimented on her at an early age, using archaic Sith texts and ancient, dark Sith alchemy to alter her body and connection to the Force. The result was a girl with a body that could heal anybody who even touched her, even going so far as to be able to save the life of a dying man by sucking on her Force-enriched blood. Her master had probably intended to keep her at his side forever and use her to, potentially, gain immortality by synthesizing her blood, whether by cloning or whatever ritual he might have. Unfortunately for him, Juugo had put an end to those plans. He'd all but destroyed the facility during their "recruitment" campaign.

Juugo, as mentioned, held a unique and terrifying connection to the Dark Side that bordered on the obscene. Whether by Sith alchemy or some natural trait of his own possession, Juugo was capable of changing his body structure at will, turning himself into a sentient weapon. Unfortunately, once unleashed, it was difficult to slow him down, let alone stop him until everything in his past was reduced to microscopic dust. Conversely, when he wasn't in kill-mode (as Suigetsu affectionately called it), he was actually a calm, quiet man. His connection to the Force was strong in either form, with his calm self's peculiar ability allowing him to speak to any creature in the galaxy, regardless of species or sentience, which actually came in handy more that you'd think.

Suigetsu himself was a roguishly handsome fellow (if he did say so himself) with blue hair so light it looked nearly white, save for the bluer tints at its roots. His predatory smile was always accompanied by his equally predatory teeth, a rare mutation that only appeared every few generations in his species. Although human in appearance, he was the only near-human in the troupe. The specifics of his genetic differences were so slight it normally wouldn't be worth mentioning, but his people had developed for millenia on an oceanic world, and secret sects had learned to utilize magic that flowed from within their bodies to alter the body's composition. It was a technique known by only a select few, and his family was the keeper of its secret. The ability to liquefy one's body came in handy more than once in the past. Everyone from the Houzuki family, of which he was the youngest, had the genetic disposition to use it freely.

And then there was Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha. Rumor had it the great Uchiha family had a superb connection to the Dark Side. Besides their naturally black hair and hereditary grim expressions, the Uchiha were well known for a single, glorious ability. They called it the Sharingan. The true nature of it was a closely guarded secret, but it gave the user enhanced vision and acute awareness of their surroundings. Sasuke was the last of that dynasty now, thanks to his brother. Itachi had once been the prodigious heir to the family, and a touted Sith Lord. After obtaining the title of Darth, Itachi slaughtered his entire family in cold blood, sparing Sasuke, and Sasuke alone. Whether by intention or neglect, he'd escaped that tragedy with little to no injuries, but Suigetsu could tell the boy carried deep psychological scars. Apparently the Sharingan was capable of distorting one's senses in favor of the wielder, and a powerful form of hypnosis. But unlike other common Sith, Sasuke took after his brother in Force prowess. Not even he could beat Sasuke if he got serious, Suigetsu was sure.

It was actually for sole purpose of finding and killing Itachi that Sasuke had gathered the three of them together, betrayed and murdered his master, and now had them marching through the Nal Hutta spaceport toward the conically shaped palace that belonged to none other than Suudaa Nem'ro the Hutt. Recently allied with the Empire thanks to one of Imperial Intelligence's agents, Nem'ro ruled Jiguuna with an iron fist, which was admittedly necessary after the absorption and elimination of what was left of Fa'athra's mercenary forces, his one-time rival. However, Nem'ro's reach would be instrumental in Sasuke's plans. The Uchiha had his own ways of doing things. While he could technically use more... traditional Imperial contacts, Sasuke wanted as little to do with them as possible. The longer it took the Sith to realize who killed his master, the longer it would take to track him down. By the time they reached him, if they reached him, Itachi would be dead. Whatever happened after that was placed on the back-burner of Sasuke's mind.

He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

"The size is because that's what I'm comfortable with," Suigetsu defended simply. "Remember, I was shipped off to Korriban so my people could learn the secrets of the Dark Side. But before that I was trained to wield the legendary weapon of my senior, Zabuza Momoche. And let me tell you, that thing's a fuckin' doosie."

"So why not just use a small sword? With all that training, your body should be able to overpower most opponents," Juugo inclined his head curiously. He and Suigetsu had a bit of history. Of the Sith in their training group, Suigetsu and Juugo were touted to be the strongest by their masters. In a not-so friendly wager, the two Sith Lords pit their apprentices against each other in a duel to the death. The fight nearly cost both of them their lives, but in a rare display of concern, both masters called it a draw, not desiring to lose their precious student. However, because of that, Suigetsu and Juugo were both able to respect each other. Or at least each other's might. Honestly, Suigetsu hoped he never had to fight Juugo again, regardless of the situation.

"Sure, I got the juice to overpower someone with a small sword, but if I use a big sword, do you really think a Jedi will be able to block it with both hands on the hilt? Unless they've got god-like wrist strength, they'll just end up getting sliced by their own saber. Besides, I mean c'mon! Giant swords are basically my fetish! Well, that and cleaving people in two."

Karin wrinkled her nose at him and grimaced in disgust. "Ew, creep."

Suigetsu glared at the ginger who dared speak her mind against him.

"That's enough," came Sasuke's silencing reply before the bladesman could retort. He turned to the blue haired human behind him, that being Suigetsu. "I'll approve your order, but you need to clear all your expenses with me first. I'll get in touch with my materials supplier after this. You contact your world's forgers. I assume you have some pull with them?"

Suigetsu smirked and swiped his nose with his thumb, a habit of his when he felt confident. "Easy peasy! I can probably even get you a discount."

Sasuke didn't speak, but gave a curt nod, turning his gaze back to the gateway to Nem'ro's palace. It was guarded on either side by heavily armed mercenaries, their unwittingly cold stares doing little to the squad of Sith, their trademark black apprentice uniforms hidden beneath black robes. "Ha! If only these punks knew who they were lookin' at."

"Best that they don't," Sasuke warned his sword-wielding friend as he stepped froward.

Suigetsu gave an acquiescing shrug and followed after him. As busy as the place was, all eyes seemed to be on them. Whether due to their young ages or their uniform attire giving off a "we mean business" vibe, Suigetsu didn't know... or especially care. Eventually though, like any decent fortress (or palace, as Hutts preferred to call them) they eventually met some solid resistance. A quartet of Nikto guardsmen barred the way to what Sasuke could only presume to be Nem'ro's throne. He gave them all a cold look.

"Tell Nem'ro his two-o'clock is here."

The four looked between themselves before one raised his comlink to his ear. A few guttural words later and the four parted, the door opening for them as she slid past.

The doorway led up to a receptionists' desk where sat an attractive green Twi'lek female. She smiled warmly at them and stood as they approached. "Greetings lady and gentlemen. Welcome to Nem'ro's palace. His great Huttness will see you now." She gestured forward and they turned, spotting the Hutt sitting on an elevated dais at the end of the room. Interesting design choice that the room before him was a bar. But Keeping the food close by probably kept his guards content to hang around.

Bypassing the loitering hunters and smugglers, they crossed the room's threshold and approached the throne. A red tinted Twi'lek turned from where he was speaking to Nem'ro and spread his arms.

"Welcome, honored guests," he welcomed, speaking in a thick Huttesse accent. "I am Toth'lazhen, Nem'ro's right hand. If you have business with the great Hutt, I must first confirm it's validity before his Excellency."

"I have a proposition that he will be well compensated for. But I will only speak to Nem'ro himself." Even though Sasuke could have simply burshed past the Twi'lek and addressed the ginormous slug behind him, he knew that certain Hutts had weird quirks that ended up being "I'm-not-doing-business-with-you" switches. But at the very least, Sasuke would never stoop to dealing with someone who wasn't at the top of the chain.

Toth'lazhen gave the dark haired boy a cautious look over before turning and sending a questioning glance toward his master. Nem'ro seemed to regard the Uchiha for a moment before motioning with one of his flabby arms.

Stepping aside, Toth'lazhen gestured for Sasuke to step forward. Not bothering to give even a nod of thanks, Sasuke approached the dais. "I'm not one for wasting time, so I'll get straight to the point," he began concisely. "Due to your recent allegiance with the Empire, you are in a perfect position to use your resources, and the Empire's, to find a certain person for me. This is me, essentially, outsourcing the job to you, so naturally this is a business deal; I'll pay you a respectable amount of course."

The Hutt's large head cocked slowly to the side. "You have gumption, boy. I like that, but I don't make deals with strangers," he said, speaking for the first time in a deep booming voice. As with all Hutts, he had a mostly unreadable expression, and his mind was immune to Force persuasion.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, formerly of the Sith Order. I'm hunting my brother, Itachi Uchiha. You might better know him as the Sith Lord, Darth Corvus."

The Hutt's eyes widened slightly at the mention of his brother's title, but allowed Sasuke' to continue.

"Several years ago, Corvus slaughtered his... my entire family. The Uchiha are well known for producing exceptional Sith, so you can imagine you'd lose no love from the Empire if you were able to find him."

A bass hum rumbled from Nem'ro's throat, his interest apparently piqued. After a few seconds, the great Hutt heaved with laughter. "So, the little brother wants to kill the elder! I can respect your loyalty to the ghosts of your family, as well as your desire for revenge. I can sympathize even." Nem'ro took a deep draw from his hookah pipe, letting the smoke billow out from his great mouth.

"This deal is... acceptable. So long as I'm properly compensated."

Sasuke gave an appreciative nod and pulled out his datapad. "I'm willing to fund a large part of the operation, starting with a down payment of..." He gave a few taps to the screen. "...Two-hundred thousand credits. I've just sent the full details and documentation for this deal to you. You can look over them at your leisure, but I'll expect an answer within a standard week."

Nem'ro's eyes bulged and he nearly choked on his own smoke. Two-hundred thousand for an information gathering operation? As a down payment? Sure his bother may have been a Sith, but that went far beyond the term "compensation." Nem'ro gave the boy a hard look. "You must really want your brother dead, or be very foolish to offer such a price."

Sasuke returned the look, carefully measuring his gaze. "Dead? No. Your job is to find him, and them tell me. Killing him is an impossible task for anyone other than myself. If he dies, he dies by my hand. I hope that's clear." Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Hutts may have a strong immunity to the Force's influence, but the cold hatred for his brother roiled from his body in waves; even someone of Nem'ro's species would feel it.

Nem'ro considered that for a moment. On one hand, it was risky for his agents to try and approach a Sith regardless of rank; killing them from a distance was always easiest. Besides, prolonged contact or proximity to a Sith usually ended badly. But on the other hand, he could compartmentalize the job and offer part of the boy's payment as a private bounty on Darth Corvus. As long as there was enough money involved, Hunters would flock to the job. Not only that, but he would, in a way, be doing the Empire a favor. Corvus all but destroyed a source of powerful Sith; surely they would be receptive of his inquiries.

He gave it a minute to settle in his mind before nodding his large head. "Agreed."

Karin gave a short sigh of relief as Sasuke gave a short, respectful bow. "Thank you, mighty Nem'ro. I look forward to seeing your progress."

The big slug grinned wide, dismissing them with a wave of his grubby hand. "Feel free to stay here, if you like. I have amenities for all species and preferences, I assure you."

Suigetsu snickered slightly. "Not for this one you don't," he said jabbing a thumb in Karin's side.

The red-head's eyes snapped open and she rounded on Suigetsu. "Why you-!"

She was stopped by Juugo's firm hand, his impassive face enough to force Karin to let it go.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. You'll understand if I must set off on my own search for Corvus."

Nem'ro gave a chuckle and a nod. "Good luck little Sith. Good luck to the both of us."

And with that Sasuke turned and marched out.

"...What?"

Naruto blinked down at the armored Mandalorian below him, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. He held his blade steady, hovering a centimeter from her face plate. The soldier turned its head back to him, her gaze invisible behind her T-visor. "T-the lightning," it hesitantly repeated, it revealing itself to be a she from the sound of her voice. Although, on second glance, her body was shapely and lithe, if you ignored the bulky armor. "You know, your Sith lightning?"

Naruto furrowed his brow, not seeing her point. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I-I've always wanted to see a Sith shoot lightning from their hands. I've heard to the stories before but I've... Nev-never seen it..."

She held her left hand out in a frozen, placating position, hoping he wasn't the kind of Sith to end her life while she was in the middle of a sentence.

Naruto eased off his pivoting foot and allowed his blade to retreat slightly from her armored form. "Um... Yeah, er..." he found himself at a slight loss for words. She'd thrown him off guard and now he didn't know how to react. It would be poor taste just to murder her thoughtlessly. He was a cold-blooded, merciless, destructive Sith machine, but he still had some amount of tact.

"I..." he began hesitantly, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah. I... can't shoot lightning."

She was silent for several seconds.

"W-WHAT?!"

Blinking impulsively, he nearly missed her movements when she leaned up and grabbed a fist-full of his tunic in her gauntleted fist and brought him down to within inches of her impassive helmet. "If you're going to kill me, at least have the decency to kill me with your lightning!"

Naruto ripped her hand from her clothes, back-stepping uncertainly from the suddenly commanding Mandalorian. "I don't have lightning, okay?!" he yelled with a slight heat in his cheeks. "I've never been able to use the damn stuff!"

The Mandalorian seemed deflate at his words, her left hand coming to her mask as if to rub her temples. "Wow, just my luck. I meet a Sith and it can't shoot lightning. Perfect."

Naruto flinched in offense at her words. "Oh, if you going to take offense at my 'lack of skill,'" he began with a mocking tone, "It's because I'm too strong in the Force, alright? I can't focus it into lightning like others can."

The soldier gave long sigh and shook her head, bringing herself back up to her feet. "Fine," she finally said, crossing arms over her chest. "Then you can't kill me."

Naruto gave her an incredulous look. "Excuse you? The hell I can't." With a slash, he swung the crimson light at the soldier. With a duck, she grabbed his saber-holding wrist held on tightly. "No!"

Naruto gritted his teeth as he grappled with her, eventually bringing his left hand back. With a shout, he slammed it forward, sending a shock wave into her belly. To his surprise, her grip on his arm was tight, and he realized all too late she was not going to let go. His arm wrenched out of socket as she dragged him with her through the air, both of them landing with a splash of sand into a nearby dune. He growled in pain as he crushed his knee into her sternum, repaid with a left cross to his jaw. Being careful to avoid the beam of his own weapon, he slammed his forehead into hers. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the smartest idea. But as painful as he realized headbutting a lightsaber resistant helmet was, his soon-to-be-headache earned him a stagger from the woman.

But still she refused to let go. Pressing in on his dislocated shoulder, she wrapped her right leg around his and tried to pull him down, only for him to pivot and, contrary to his small stature, lift them both up and support their combined weight on his opposite leg for several seconds before slamming them, mostly her, into the ground, placing himself on top. "Just..." he grunted out between breaths, "...let me..." She punched him in the gut repeatedly, risking losing her grip on his lethal arm to get him off of her. "...kill you!"

"I don't wanna!" She brought her right knee up and slammed. Hard.

Naruto, to his credit, didn't cry out. Pushing himself off of her, he staggered to the side, his saber falling silent as he pressed his hands on his knees and leaned over. Whatever evolutionary process that decided it was a good idea to attach the nerves on his balls to his stomach could go fuck itself a hundred times over.

Deep, labored breaths.

"You... dirty-" he winced, his face visibly contorting with minor agony. The Sith may have taught pain was great to fuel one's rage, Naruto would bet everything he owned there wasn't a Sith in the galaxy who could utilize... this pain.

The Mandalorian brought herself to her own feet. "Hey, you're fault for not wearing protection," she said while huffing for breath. After taking a moment to steady herself, she stared pointed at the young Sith. "Now," she began. "I'm not dying until you show me how you Sith shoot lightning from your hands."

"Oh sure," Naruto conceded sarcastically. "Let me just take you with me and let you tag along for twenty fucking years, 'cause that's how long it'd take me to learn it!" His voice cracked slighty at the end, evidence of his pain.

The Mandalorian took pause at his words, crossing her arms and scowling beneath her mask. With a healthy amount of hesitance, she reached up and pulled off her helmet and approached. Naruto blinked as he looked up and saw, to his surprise, a head of short, yet vibrant berry-red hair, tipped with fire-like yellow and crimson.

"It's a deal." She extended her hand in greeting, staring intently at the black clad Uzumaki. Said Sith gazed back incredulously.

"I was being sarcastic!" he cried, his desire to kill her momentarily held at bay by his bewilderment.

"Well I wasn't!" she shouted back, her hand remaining extended for him to take. "I'll come with you, alright? I'll be your guard or whatever, but you better show me fucking lightning before I die or so help me-"

"No!" Naruto denied. "I'm not taking you with me! I'm this close from killing you!"

"But you're not, right? There're things in this world I want to see, and I refuse to die until I do!" she planted her feet firmly in the sand, as if to make her physical refusal to budge a mental reality. "And what's wrong with having me as an underling, huh?! I'm as strong as any Mandalorian you could ask for, even the men!"

Naruto shook his head in exasperation, daring to straighten up, lest his gullet reject it's contents in protest. "Bitch, gender's got nothing to do with it. I'm a solo act. I don't play well with others."

She rolled her eyes at him, planting her fists on her hips. "Trust me, I'm looking at you right now; you're not that hard to work with."

Naruto almost took offense at that, as if implying he were in any way "easy" would be offensive. But... it was strange. Besides Captain Ordo, he'd not met many people who could tolerate his unique tastes for the ultra-violent. Yet here this girl, probably... What? In her early twenties? Was offering to work with him, to sacrificed her position as a Mandalorian, just to see some Sith lightning? Women would never make sense to him. But... This woman...

He looked her up and down, studying her. Her armor was a dull metal grey, as all Mandalorian armor was, but it was decorated with a Mandalorian skull that matched the color of her under-tunic; a faded red, not unlike her hair. The same color accented her helmet, now tucked beneath one arm. The only weapon she carried is the one he'd disarmed her from, laying over on the sand, save for the flamethrower on her arm that was now busted. No pistols, no grenades, no melee weapon... Even her trademark jetpack lacked its complimentary missile.

"You're not exactly well armed," he finally pointed out, letting her look at herself and realize he was right. "I have a personal weapons locker in the enclave, and some replacement parts I can used to fix my armor. Speaking of, why were you here in the first place? I know some of our guys were getting rowdy in the town, but no one expected Sith... correction."

Naruto smirked and blew the sand from his nose. "Apparently the governor of Mos Ila really wants you dead. He also wanted information about some corporation's research facility out here too."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Sooo... You were planning on killing some of us and interrogating us?"

"I was planning on killing most of you and bully those I didn't into giving me the data I need. Then kill them too."

She looked at him for a long time, her pale red eyes studying him carefully. Naruto blinked at her in surprise. Red wasn't a natural human eye color. Was this girl a near-human? In fact, she looked far too beautiful for a Mandalorian grunt. Not that he really cared about her looks, mind you.

After a minute or two she nodded, as if to herself, and extended her hand again, this time looking at him with a fierce determination. "My name's Anni. Anni Hilate."

Naruto looked down at her hand for a long moment before, finally, conceding. "Naruto Uzumaki." He clasped his hand in hers, shaking it with a firm grip. She brought herself closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, and with a sharp tug, snapped his shoulder back into its socket.

"Hurgh!" Naruto grimaced in pain as his shoulder cracked and popped back into it's place, even as he experimentally rolled it around.

"Pleasure to work with you Mr. Uzumaki... Sith... Boss."

"Boss, Sith... whatever, I don't care which, but NOT my name."

She retracted her hand and a mock, but surprisingly respectful salute. Or maybe it was a giddy salute? Naruto couldn't tell with women sometimes, especially this weird one.

The glee in her smile was palpable as it stretched from ear to ear. "You got it boss!"

The enclave was burning. Everywhere. Various wings were now on bursting into flames thanks to a gas leak and an explosion in the main armory. Fortunately, Anni had been able to retrieve her gear and equipment from the same wing before it blew completely, almost catching her in the process. That would have made their partnership short indeed. While she did that, Naruto had fun interrogating any Mandalorian who managed to survive his assault. Sadly none of them seemed to have the information he required. Moreover, it wasn't helping that none of them seemed to know anything about any Czerka facility, which was starting to grate on his nerves.

The assault had started off pretty well. Anni had gone inside and lured the inner guard into a lull before Naruto came in lightsaber slashing. In fact, she'd killed quite a few of her brothers herself. He'd even commented on it.

"They're more akin to thugs than Mandalorians. They've long since forgotten their pride as warriors." He was sure that had she not been wearing a helmet, with that tone, she'd have spit on their corpses.

"Well that's harsh. Weren't you one of them until... fifteen minutes ago?" he remarked with a humorous smirk.

She turned to him with what he was sure was a stern glare. "I'm still a Mandalorian. But I know their sins better than you do. This... " She looked around at the carnage the two had wrought. "...It's what they deserve."

Naruto gave her a short glance and shrugged it off. Whatever was in her past could either wait 'till later or never at all. Either way, he could care less. She was doing her job, and a damn fine job of it, if he was honest. She showed now mercy for her former comrades, save those she spared for his interrogations. Even the enclave commander hadn't been spared. Oh sure,. he leveled some pretty harsh accusation at the girl, as well as some scathing insults. But Naruto had his way with him and that was that. Insults from a dead man mean very little. But to his surprise, she'd remained silent through most of it. But Naruto knew, there was a tormented sensation from her, one that was both fed and relieved by the death of every man she killed in their onslaught. There certainly was more to this girl than met the eye, and the way her emotions fluctuated all over the place while she tried to force herself to remain calm made him laugh at the most awkward times. Well, not entirely awkward; he'd have laughed while killing them anyway.

The commander's body fell the to floor, headless, and Naruto turned to his console, now unlocked thanks to the commander's pained recitation of his password.

Currently Naruto was scouring the device for any information about his query, while Anni went through the commander's personal safe, both of them silent in their work until the female spoke up. "Credits... some power-packs... a blaster, some gems... Chewing gum? A bottle of brandy, a..." she fell silent for a moment. Several long moments before she shook her head and continued. Naruto paid it no mind. "A folder with..." she thumbed through it. "...Looks like bank statements... And a datapad."

"Go through the data pad, see if it's got anything on Czerka. I'm not getting any luck over here," Naruto ordered. The only thing he could remotely call useful w as a map of the surrounding desert, carefully mapped out by which was useful, but ultimately didn't have any useful information.

A deep rumble shuddered through the compound. Naruto looked up from his console. "That reminds me; are there any speeders we can use here?"

Anni looked up from the datapad and nodded. "We've got some low atmospheric flyers. Will those work?"

"Perfect! Pack up what your taking and let's get the hell out of here." There was no way he was going to suffer walking in the burning suns of Tatooine again just because he was slow on the get-out.

The Coruscant sun had already dipped well below the horizon, but still the dim lights of his office glowed with gentle hues of orange and blue. As a senator, he was privileged to have a luxurious room where he had access to all the amenities he could wish for. The live plants gave the room and earthy smell, and incense burning on the desk beside him helped, but did very little regardless to calm his nerves. He rubbed his head, his brain aching in his skull. He stared at the screen in front of him, it's holographic transparency throwing off a white-blue light which hurt his eyes. He'd been meaning to change the colors to red but... The screen in front of him listed all of his mail; his messages from important individuals and about important meetings. But the one mail he was looking for was not among them. He must have been staring at it for hours now, fruitlessly hoping and waiting for something to arrive.

But it never did. Sometimes he'd count down from ten, tell himself that at "one" the mail would arrive. How many times had he done that now? Too many, he realized. Too many. His hope was waning, and his spirits gone. He had very little choice now; he could either accept reality, or he could do what he swore he'd never do.

His right hand itched. The effort to move it toward the comlink almost too much for him to bear. But he did it. He pressed the button. His hand hurt now.

The soft tone of a beep resounded from the device, and he spoke through it, his secretary on the other side awaiting his any request.

"Get me the Jedi Council."

The hologram of the man flickered in the center of the room. Most everyone present knew who he was based on reputation alone, that and a certain, dark history between him and the Order. But putting that aside for now, Satele Shan listened patiently to him. He was dressed in modest robes that hung loosely on his body, all of them a white linen save for the dark grey coat draped over his shoulders. The outfit complimented his physical attributes well; his faded eyes and long black hair were evidence of that. This was a man who was put together and orthodox. He wasn't one to bend the rules or seek others help. That was the impression she got from him. And indeed she knew that to be true; this wasn't the first time she and he had spoken, but it was the first time she'd seen him so... shaken.

"Honored Masters," he began, his hands folded over a short cane in front of him. "Several weeks ago, my daughter was... kidnapped."

Already Satele could see where this was going, but it certainly explained his subtle mannerisms.

"I am conscious of our prior disagreements, and I am aware of my harsh criticisms of your order in the past. But I humbly ask that my actions be pushed aside for the moment. I've gone though all the proper channels and contacted all the necessary authorities, yet none of them has any leads or information on my daughter's whereabouts. I now come before your graces asking for your help."

Satele let her fingers idly rub the chair's armrest as she listened to his words. Indeed, it had not even been that long ago that this man had publicly criticized the order's archaic nature and the limitations of their abilities to lead the Republic's military forces. Although not aggressively outspoken as some of their political adversaries were, this man was by no means their friend.

She looked around the room, eyeing her fellow councilmen and women, measuring their expressions as they looked to her with varying degrees of concern. Some clearly didn't want to bother. Others seemed sympathetic; many had lost Padawans of their own, which were no different from adopted children in many cases. And indeed, despite this man's record, he was a man who cared for his missing daughter, enough contact someone he publicly detested. It spoke volumes of his character.

It seemed the majority of the silent consensus was for helping. It was just as well; helping him went a long way toward perhaps gaining his favor, and that would be one less influential voice decrying them.

"We'll accept your request, senator. A lost child is nothing less than a tragedy, and we're sorry to hear it. But we'll need information; I hope you have time."

The man nodded and gave a short bow. "I do. Thank you masters. I am grateful for your assistance." His voice was measured and careful, but she could detect the fragility beneath his voice. He was not as well as he made himself out to be. But for a politician, it probably worked to his benefit.

"You say your daughter was kidnapped; where did the event take place."

He took a measured breath and spoke. "We aren't entirely sure. She was here on Coruscant when it happened. Her transport was disabled and was forced to make an emergency landing. According to reports, they laded safely, but were attacked. The guards were slaughtered, but her body was not among them."

"Have their been any demands?" asked the Togruta, Bela Kiwiiks. "Anything at all?"

"...No," he said after some hesitation. "We've heard nothing from the attackers."

"Was anybody else taken? Was it only your daughter?"Orgus Din questioned.

"My youngest daughter is still at home on Umbrosus. Here's the security footage we recovered."

The image of the man vanished and was replaced by an recording of the event as it took place. The transport landed, and then was aggressively boarded by masked individuals who slaughtered the guards and stunned the girl into unconsciousness. Then they left.

"Authorities have told me there was no evidence left behind, besides the caliber of their weapons and the MO of the killings, which could indicate any gang with credits in their heads being held in front of them." The man took a deep breath and shook his head. "I'll send you all the information I've been given so far, but it isn't much."

The Jedi Gran Master gave an appreciative nod as more data streamed into their databanks."Thank you senator. We'll do everything within our power to find your daughter and bring he back safely."

The man gave a final bow and the image cut out.

"That man's a heartless father," Orgus said as soon as the connection was ended. "The thing he cares about is the fact that his daughter was kidnapped. Not his daughter."

For her part, Satele was taken aback by her colleague's harsh damnation. "How can you say that Orgus? Any father would look for their children."

Orgus leaned forward in his seat pointedly. "Any father would have immediately contacted anyone to find their kid, regardless of who it was, or what their history was. Not weeks later after every other alternative was explored." Orgus shook hsi head in disgust, a disappointed breath leaving his throat. "And I've spoken with him several times in the past; I know. That man only care about appearances."

"I think that's assuming a bit too much Orgus." Jaric Kaedan chastised from beside his friend. "Sure he may not be father of the year (from what I've heard) but people change when they're put in strenuous circumstances."

"Trust me Jaric. This man doesn't."

"Regardless of our personal opinions of him," Shan interjected, looking across the room at both masters before turning to address the rest of the council, "his daughter is innocent in this. She doesn't deserve to suffer for his faults."

Orgus mumbled under his breath but relented. At the very least, he accepted that much. The loss of his apprentice, Bengel Morr, had affected him deeply. To this day he refused to take another Padawan. He stood up and turned to the windows overlooking Tython's verdant treetops.

"Kidnapping a senator's family member is usually a political move." Syo Bakarn brought up a few images and clips of the Senator. "If there's been no ransom, and he hasn't made any major political shift in his platform, then we can only assume she wasn't used as leverage. You don't kidnap a someone political for kick and giggles. There has to be a reason," he said while crossing his arms and thumbing his chin.

"Bring up the security footage again."

All eyes turned to the Kel Dor in the corner, a hand motioning to the holoprojector in the center of the room. "Master Gnost-Dural?"

Syo tapped his console a few times and the event played again.

The footage played through a second time.

"See anything, Gnost?"

"Mmm, maybe..." he stroked his chin methodically as the intruders burst into the cabin guns a-blazing. He said nothing as blaster and stun bolt fire filled the main cabin. There seemed to be only one security camera on the transport, positioned in the front facing the back of the vessel. The girl in question, an attractive beauty who could only curl into herself as the deadly blaster shots rained all around her until the hail stopped and she was struck by a blue stun bolt. "Is their audio to this?" he asked, looking at Syo.

The human Jedi looked down at the file on his panel and shrugged. "Audio's on. If there isn't any then there wasn't any to begin with."

Gnost turned back to the screen and took over the controls on his console, rewinding and letting it play again several times before speaking again. "I think we can safely rule out local gang violence. They slaughter the entire crew in cold blood. They don't even try to force a surrender."

Indeed, the footage showed them violently force their way in, kill everyone but their target, apprehend said target, and bolt. "You think they're trained mercenaries?" Shan asked.

Gnost inclined his head in a maybe. They way they carried themselves showed they knew what they were doing. But there was something off about the whole thing. Something he felt like he should already know... His small eyes narrowed at the recording. He paused it in a flash and stared intently at the still about it screamed at him, almost literally yelling in his brain that what he sought was right in front of him. And then he saw it.

One of them men, though he hid it well, had a slight limp to him, and as he turned and showed the heel of his boot, there, on the heel, was the telltale marks of repair. In all likelihood, the limp was from an old injury. Probably from whatever pierced his boot prior to its repair. What are the odds that Gnost knew one such individual who fit that description. Placing a mental overlay of that person onto the character on the holo, he couldn't bring himself to dismiss it. With a heave, he lifted himself off his char and strode to the door.

"Gnost?" Satele questioned as the Kel Dor suddenly made to leave.

"I'm heading to Coruscant," he said simply as the doors opened with a hiss. "There is criminal I need to catch."

He offered no more as the doors slid shut behind him.

The craft wasn't big, but it was large enough for the two of them to squeeze into as it skated through the clear Tatooine sky. Naruto looked out the tinted, polarized windows at all the sand. It stretched on to the horizon in every direction, regardless of where he looked. Anni was the one flying it since they had to sit with her literally in Naruto's lap, mainly because Naruto still didn't trust her yet; no way was he going to let her set snug up against his back, where she could potentially blast his spine to all hell. Of course, Anni had given a teasing remark about him just wanting to slide up against her tight hindquarters. Naruto ignored it with a roll of his eyes. He didn't bother explaining his disregard for the carnal subject, since he was pretty sure she wouldn't believe him anyway. Although if he needed proof, it was evident in the noticeable limpness of a certain part of his lower body. He wasn't honestly sure if he could even get aroused, at last, not by people.

Killing people, maybe...

"So what's up with you and this whole lightning thing?" he questioned, breaking the silence which had survived most of the ride. They were still a ways off from the target location. As it turned out, there was a large "DO NOT ENTER" marking on a region of the map, which denoted a no-man's land (more than the Dune Sea already was). On the commander's personal datapad though, it indicated that the area was actually the location of an old Czerka research facility, and was where the commander had hidden a lot of his treasure over the past several years. Naruto was hoping this was what he was looking for. Once he did this for Dakal, the governor would be required, by Naruto's demand, to assist him in finding his missing vault of goodies. For his master, of course.

"Huh?" Anni started, disturbed from her trance. "Oh, well, um..." She stumbled over her words as she tried to form coherent sentences. "I guess... If you want complete honesty, it started when I was a kid. I grew up on Mandalore, right? Well, I was an orphan. Nobody wanted me and I didn't exactly make it easy on folks to take care of me. See, I had a lot of medical issues back then, and they were pretty expensive. Mandalorians are well known for taking care of their young, but Mandalore ain't a paradise; it's got shitty places like anywhere else. Of course, I ended up being born in one of those shitty places, so I grew up sick and deprived. Ended up having to go through a lot of hell just to survive before I was old enough to join the military (and get their complimentary health package). I also thought it'd be amazing to go out and see the galaxy! Adults never notice kids, and I was always in the background of someone's conversation listening to them talk about the wide world I was too young to know about. I guess it instilled a sense of wander-lust in me."

She looked down at the readout on the data pad and adjusted course by a couple degrees. "But, of course, dreams never do come true. I ended up being stationed on one bore-fest after another. Nothing interesting ever happened. But with every rotation of troops, new guys came in and I stuck around. They always had something interesting to talk about; cool stories to tell. One of those stories was how one guy saw a Sith shoot lightning from his hands and electrocute a prisoner to death. Said he saw him do it twice!"

Even behind her mask, which she wore because there wasn't any room to put it if she didn't, Naruto could hear the excitement and disbelief being remembered in her voice. She sighed. "I thought he was crazy, but I kept on hearing things about the galaxy that I couldn't believe. Eventually I decided that I'd go out and see those things for myself one day. But when you're a Mandalorian, you're in the military until you retire. So unless I could retire at the age of seventeen, or suddenly become super smart and get stationed as a general somewhere with more action, I'd likely be stuck pulling grunt-duty for the rest of my life, which is what I ended up doing for the next five years. That's when you showed up..."

Naruto, having lost interest in her story and zoned out, perked up.

"I saw you cut down the first guy in my squad. At first I was scared shitless! I thought you were some sort of sand-worm. But then I saw your lightsaber and I was..." she paused, searching for that sensation in her memory. "I was mesmerized... Kinda. I couldn't tell if what I was seeing was real or not. I knew only Sith and Jedi could use a lightsaber as well as you did, and only Sith use red ones. So when I realized you were a Sith, I couldn't help remembering that they could use lightning. And that was something I wanted to see."

Naruto gave a slightly-understanding nod. 'Yeah, she's fucking nuts.' But, considering she was born and orphan, he couldn't exactly fault her for her skewed sense of importance. He supposed he was the same, if he was honest. Raised without parents. Learning to want something beyond his reach. Finding a way to achieve it, regardless of sense or morals... They actually weren't that different from each other now that he thought about it.

"So," he began, breaking himself from that convoy of thought. "What happens when you get to see your human-taser? We go our separate ways?"

He felt the warrior's body stiffen in front of him and he felt a sense of uncertainty flow from her. She was actually pretty easy to read, even for him. But then again, he was the first Force-sensitive person she'd ever met. She probably thought the Force was a hoax; he would.

"Actually... If it's alright with you, I'd-"

"No."

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"I'm not letting you come with me," he said simply, closing his eyes and folding his arms matter-of-factly. "I've got my own master to answer to, and a fucking job of his I need to get done. I don't have the time or the energy to bring you along just so you can sight-see. Besides," he continued. "I'd be just as likely to kill you as house you, and that would put quite the damper on your galaxy-wide tour, wouldn't it?"

She gave an understanding by adamant sigh. "You're a Sith, I get it. You're a solo artist of carnage, I get it. You made that point clear during the raid... But I honestly don't have anywhere else to go, and I know that's my problem, not yours, but at least I know with you..." she halted, trying to think of the best way to convey her feelings. "...At least with you I know I'd get to see the universe. If you've got rules, that's fine! I'll gladly work with them! But I can't go anywhere else. Not now. Now anymore..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, his expression one of unconvinced apathy.

"Look, I don't want to sound whiny or desperate. You probably kill people like that, right?" His resounding lack of denial was all the answer she needed. "You seem like a guy who I can get along with. And I'll be honest, I don't get along with many men."

Naruto raised his other eyebrow, a question on his lips, but he bit it down. He didn't care enough to ask it.

With a resigned sigh, he shook his head. "...Fine. But!" he interjected before she could celebrate. "I do have rules. First rule," he raised his index finger, even though she couldn't see it. "I'm the boss. My word is law and you'll do as I say. Second rule," he raised his middle finger. "I'm the boss. My word is law. And you'll do as I say."

Anni gave a short laugh, a genuine chuckle that Naruto felt was slightly out of place for what he'd just said. "Copy loud and clear, boss!"

A beeping from the console drew both of their gazes to it. "Looks like were coming up on the coordinates," she announced as she began flipping switches, prepping the ship for landing. Naruto peeked over her shoulder out the window. There seemed to be a large, sprawling complex barely showing through the sand dunes. From the air, it might have even looked like the remains of a ship.

The vessel touched down with a bump. Anni quickly pressed the button to unseal the cockpit hatch and stood up, clambering out and allowing Naruto to do the same. He landed with a thump, his black boots sinking no less than two inches into the loose sand beneath him. He paid it no mind as he stretched, letting the blood return to his thighs. Mandalorian armor was heavier than it looked.

He sighed as he relaxed, letting his limbs flop as he rolled his neck and shoulder, hearing the joints pop and crack with every movement. Anni was doing the same, in addition to spreading her legs and reaching down to touch her toes. "OK. You ready?" she asked as she drew her blaster from its holster.

"Lead the way, soldier."

Trying to find a way inside had been... harder than Naruto would have liked. Having circled the sunken facility twice-over and not finding a point of entry, he eventually, in a fit of rage, drew his lightsaber and went to town on the roof.

"Wow... Remind me not to make you mad," Anni commented while looking down into the darkness.

Naruto huffed satisfactorily. "Yeah, you just keep that in mind." And down the hole they went, her jetpack and the Force giving them soft landings.

The inside was dry, the environmental controls long since having shut off. With not an enemy in sight, they continued on, the only illumination in the darkness being her barrel-mounted flashlight and his crimson red saber.

"At least I can see in the dark," Anni commented idly as she looked around, her helmet's night-vision compensating for her. "But you can probably feel things in the Force right? Like before you hit a wall?

Naruto gave her a dumbfounded look and shook his head. "It's not like echo-location, dumbass. Besides I can see perfectly in the dark without it."

"Really? How?"

Naruto shrugged. "No idea. Nothing medical explains it; I just can."

Her bemused and intrigued expression was hidden by her helmet. He was interesting, that was for sure. She wondered if all Sith were like him. he was just an apprentice right? So what was a full-fledged Sith Lord capable of? Part of her didn't want to find out... But only a tiny part.

They continued on in the darkness, not an enemy in sight. Anni glanced at the small map in her HUD that referenced her commanding officer's treasure map. The plip signalling the resting place for his supposed valuables was several hundred feet ahead. The hallway was barren of both life and threats. The whole facility was probably deserted; resourced relocated elsewhere. Naruto had heard rumors of secret corporate sites housing illegal experiments that eventually break loose, infesting the facility, forcing its abandonment. Seemed this one was lucky in that regard.

"Here. Behind this door." She pointed to the dead end ahead of them. Giving his new companion a wary glance, he plunged his saber into the framework of the door, dragging the searing blade around it's edges until the whole door was cut away. With a powerful kick, it fell back with an obnoxious clang. They tentatively stepped through, into the darkness.

The room was large. Larger than either had expected. At about ten meters tall and thirty or so meters wide in either direction, it was the largest room they'd come across so far. It was set up as an obstacle course, with various makeshift buildings and ramps featuring aged carbon scoring and fragments of droids littered across the floor.

"Must have been some sort of proving ground. What do you think the facility was for? Droids? Weapons?"

"I'm more interested in where that map says the treasure is," he said with a side-long glance from her to the room.

"Oh, right! Ok let's see..." She looked at her HUD, trying to located the... Well, whatever it was they were looking for; the logs didn't indicate what it was that had been hidden. "It's in..." She paused as she stepped forward to glance around a prefab wall. "...this building here."

Naruto turned to where her pointed finger indicated. There was a single, large prefab building in the center of the room that would likely have acted as the assault point during simulations and trial runs. It was partially dilapidated, with most of the damage looking like it came from the many droid carcasses lying around inside. They stepped inside.

Inside was a main entry way with branching hallways that no doubt led to other rooms and likely a small stairway heading upstairs. "You look down here, I'll check the second level," he ordered, looking around for access upwards.

"Copy that," she acknowledged, kicking a pile of scrap aside.

Finally finding the singular ladder which led up, grabbed a rung and with a single heave, brought himself up to the next story. He landed with a thud and looked around. The second story consisted of a series of three rooms with no doors, and a single entry onto the balcony overlooking the test field. There was no furniture to be seen, which was understandable, and the plaster on the ceiling looked like it could all come down on him at any given moment. Actually...

He looked at the ceiling, noting how it seemed to dip in a certain spit. Stepping over too it, ignoring the clattering of the woman the floor below as she... "Are you, like, breaking down walls down there?!" he yelled.

"He might have hidden it in the walls, right?!"

Naruto shook his head. Women.

he returned his attention to the ceiling and traced his gloved fingers over it for a moment before noticing the small crack that extended at least two feet before hitting a ninety-degree turn. Following the seam the other way, he met another ninety degree turn. He grinned successfully and gathered the force into the roof. With a tug, he ripped the ceiling down. With it, as the plaster dust settled, came a large, security box, it's electronic lock indicating it was still functional.

He set it down with a clunk, pulling out the data pad in his pocket and looking at the access codes within. Punching them in, the case gave a short beep and clicked open. The lid opened with a creaking groan. Inside the small crate was an assortment of items, ranging from precious gems, stacks of large bills, and a reasonably sized stack of file folders.

"Find anything?"

He nearly jumped at the soldier's voice behind him. "Yeah I found it. Not a whole lot honestly. Some nice rocks and a bit of paper but otherwise useless crap." He thumbed through a file but tossed it to the side heedlessly. Anni furrowed her brow and picked it up, sifting through its contents with considerably more care than her new employer had.

"Boss, this a compilation of advanced combat droid programming! We could totally sell these on the black market!"

Naruto blinked back at her before glancing at the folder. "Yeah? Probably salvaged from a data bank somewhere in this complex. If you think it's valuable, pack it up; we can take a closer look at it on my ship." He stood, brushing the dust from his gloves and knees as she knelt down and quickly placed all the thing's he'd removed back into the case and sealing it shut.

They both started by the sound of groaning metal. They gave each other a long glance as it echoed throughout the chamber. Anni furrowed her brow, a thought occurring to her.

"So... Just curious; what do you think the odds there are still some droids running around the place."

Her only response was Naruto's narrowed gaze and a growl as he turned and vaulted over the balcony down to the ground. She followed quickly using her jetpack to cushion her fall. When she rose, we was stopped by his motionless form. 'What's wrong boss?" she asked as she peaked over his shoulder. Her breath slowed in her lungs as she saw the three tall, lanky forms of some strange series of droids standing just outside the entrance to the chamber. Their bodies and legs were mainly cylindrical, with peg-legged feet and spindly arms. Their heads were horizontal disks with hemispherical photo-receptor. Their arms possessed similarly disk-shaped blades which whirred to life as soon as she saw them.

"...Oh."

The droids launched themselves into the air, angling to come down on top of the both of them. Naruto grinned despite himself, his crimson saber igniting in his hand. "Don't die on me, soldier! You're carrying that case back to my ship!" He brought his blade up to block a spinning saw swung at him in a wide arc. With a grunt, he parried it, half expecting the blade to slice right through. His eyes narrowed. Evidently, they were made of sterner metals than ordinary steel. The droid pivoted on it's main foot and spun, it's shoulders rotating around it's torso in a circle, blades seeking out his flesh. Back-flipping away from the machine, he nearly lost his footing as he landed only to be met by a saw blade already buzzing at his eyes. He spun away, lightsaber deflecting the rotating weapons. The droids seemed to function on a gyro-stabilizing platform; their bodies always seemed to bend and twist perfectly to move and attack at the same time. It was also very agile, capable of deflecting his attacks and keeping up with his enhanced speed.

But there was one area of the body that seemed to remain stationary, near the pelvis region of each droid. That was where the gyro-stabilizer was. The trick was being able to hit it, but with the right timing-

A clank behind him made the hairs of his neck prickle in warning. Ducking down deep, parallel to the floor, the blonde just barely dodged the searching blade of a second droid. His eyes widened as the first droid brought down its saw arm, to which he ripped himself away from the ground and the two of them, tumbling through their spinning limbs, but not without receiving a slash across his left shoulder from one of their razor sharp blades. They were on him almost before he landed. Flipping his blade around as fast as he could, he barely reached up in time to block their simultaneous strikes from splitting him down the middle, from the sides, and slashing his legs. Sparks and molten slag spit from their weapons with every strike. He was wearing down their blades, but they were filled disks, not hollow, and spinning at the velocity they were would still be enough to rip right through his flesh and to his bones.

With a roar of rage, he bellowed at the two machines, the dark energies welling from within his breast and bursting from his throat. The two were batted away, their forms twisting and gyrating to land on their feet, which they somehow managed to do. His eyes bore holes into the machines as they immediately moved around cover and weaved between buildings. Naruto didn't need his eyes to track them both; he could feel every move they made. The whir of gears, the shifting of sprockets... The howling of blades.

The cold touch of steel to his neck made his blood run cold. Was he blind? How could a blade be at his throat? No, it didn't matter how. Forcing the Force to his will, the blade stopped where it was, unable to budge even a millimeter more. Dodging to the side, he released his grip and let it pass on by, allowing his eyes to follow it. To his surprise, there was no droid attached to it. It flew until it buried itself in the duracrete of a nearby hovel. But no sooner had it fallen still then it began to vibrate, shaking lose and whizzing through the air back to its mount on the third droid.

Naruto gritted his teeth. Mag-lock blades and gyro-motorized mechs. Czerka certainly had an imagination.

He turned to regard the new threat, only to shield his eyes as the they blew into a heap of scrap, flames licking its body as the gyro malfunctioned, sending it into some bizarre pseudo-death-throws fit. Anni stood behind it, a heavy carbine in both hands. Without so much as a blink's hesitation, she lifted the rifle to her helmet and fired again, catching a seemingly stunned second droid in the hip, throwing it back but failing to disable it. It's partner launched from the shadows, spinning blades flailing at precisely calculated angles. Naruto wouldn't let it gain the upper hand. One was still recovering and one was destroyed. This was the final droid; he had the momentum now. Slashing with his saber, he aimed for its center of mass. Although it was capable of extreme agility and balance, it also knew to protect its weak spot, which it wasn't apparently equipped to do; it needed to sacrifice a limb just to keep standing, but Naruto wouldn't let it resume it's assault.

Blaster fire echoed through the chamber as he severed it's right arm, joining it's left on the ground. In a last ditch measure, the droid began kicking and leaping, using it's metal legs to swing and crush him with their durability, but sadly, they did little against his lightsaber prowess. It fell to the floor, limbless. With a flick of his weapon, he sent the head skittering across the floor, the body falling still where it had fallen.

An explosion drew his attention behind him. He turned, only to see the form of the last droid obstructing his view of the flames. With a precise stab, he pierced straight through thee droid's gyro-stabilization unit. It stood still for a moment, as if wondering whether it should die or not. It finally settled on the former, falling to the ground, jittering out the last of its life.

"Oh, that was lucky! I shot him right into you."

Naruto took a moment to catch his breath before shrugging off his new compatriot's excitement. "Yeah yeah, nice job... I guess. Let's just get the fuck out of here. I"m sick of this dark already." He took a step toward the door, only to freeze on the first step. A distinct humming of activating machinery vibrated throughout the chamber. Only when he looked up did he spot the reason. A panel in the roof was sliding back, revealing and lowering a large double-barreled sentry turret. His eyes narrowed before he noticed panels sliding open all over the walls of the room.

Anni froze in her tracks. She knew probably even better than her new master the technical stats of sentry turrets, and from the looks of these, they had maybe ten seconds before they trained on them and fired. There were too many to shoot down and they'd never reach the entrance in time.

"Soldier!"

Her head snapped to her master. Naruto was pointing to the ceiling. "Hit it hard!"

She blinked at him but decided it was better to simply do as she was told. She didn't exactly have a better idea. Bracing herself, she primed the rocket on her back and fired, the warhead screaming through the air for a scant few seconds before crashing into the roof. Fire and pressure exploded outwards, hitting her like a roar of thunder. She shielded her face instinctively, still tried to see if any real damage had been done; the facility was likely made to contain blast like that in case of a malfunction.

What she saw was Naruto with his hands up-stretched, a snarl on his face and hands clenched like claws. He shook as if he were fighting some invisible wrestler bearing down on him, when at last, with a twisted shriek of metal, he swung down, a hole ripping itself open above them, a torrent of sand following down after. Only all too late did she realize it was coming down right on top of her.

The guns swiveled into place and fired, crimson bolts of plasma strafing the entire room and reducing it to a brutal pile of carbon scored ash. But they didn't hit them. She started as she realized, while the sand poured like a waterfall over her, the extreme heat difference between inside and outside must be throwing thermal sensors for a loop, and visual scanning was impossible so long as she was occluded by the incoming dunes. But what about...

"Boss!" she cried out, trying to keep sand from occluding her vision as she looked around for the Sith. She found him when she felt a pair of arms encircle her body and hold on tight.

"Shut up and let me concentrate!" was his only response, to which she curiously obliged. She wondered what kind of trick he had up his sleeve, but it wasn't until she felt her feet leave the ground that she realized his goal. They were floating.

"W-Wow...!"

The sand above flowed around them like they were in a bubble. In fact, that was exactly what it was like. Naruto was creating a bubble of energy around them and lifting them through the tube of falling sand. His face was hard and his lips parted in a small grimace, but his eyes did not twitch in their closed sockets. She wondered exactly how much concentration he actually needed to perform something like this. She felt strange as the slow ascent caused her to question just how tall the room might have actually been. But finally, the sand gave way to sunlight, and she felt their rise slow.

They floated several inches above the dunes for only a few moments before the sense of weightlessness vanished, replaced by the familiar pull of gravity. They landed suddenly, her balance momentarily thrown off as she briefly struggled to stabilize herself.

"You... You flew!" she could barely breath out as she stared at the blonde. His feet touched the ground only moments after hers, ut he slumped slightly as he walked away from the hole into which the desert was rushing to fill.

Naruto gave her a sandy look and an amused grimace, his breath heavy but tone mildly apathetic, brushing her comment off dismissively. "First time a droid's given me much trouble in a while. I should order from Czerka sometime."

"Trouble? I thought we we're going to die there for a sec!" She slung the case over her back and looked around, spotting their small transport parked in the distance. "If it weren't for your quick thinking, we'd be heaps of slag right now."

Naruto gave a small huff that contained more than a hint of pride. "Yeah well I can't die yet. I got a bucket-list to finish, and dying on my first mission off Dromund Kaas ain't on it."

Anni felt a chuckle escape her throat before should realized it. "Hehe, I guess we're not so different, you and me."

Naruto eyed her, his smile vanishing from his face. "I'll still space you if you try anything. You know I can, and you'd better believe I will."

She laughed again, this time much more heartily. It was a warm laugh, one that bespoke her unconcern for his threat. Oh, she had no doubt he could, and would, under the right circumstances, but she had no intention of giving her new galaxy-wide tour-ticket a reason to do so. This Sith was going places, both figuratively and literally, and she intended on being a part of it for as long as he had new things to show her.

She patted her shoulder guards, wiping off the dust and adjusting it's position. "Well, I'm ready to go if you are," she suggested, eager to follow the Sith into what would doubtless be the wide galaxy beyond the clear blue skies above.

Naruto rolled his shoulder and shrugged. "Come on then. I need to make sure that case is worth what I just went through to get it. And visit Dakal... again." He turned and began trudging through the sand.

Sighing a relieved breath, she smiled and jogged after him, falling into line several steps behind.

A/N: And that's chapter two! I'm already working on chapter three, and chapter eighteen of Konoha's Silver Shinobi (Yes, I'm paninfully aware that chapter is overdue), so y'all have that to look forward to! If you liked this chapter, give a quick favorite to keep an eye on it, and feel free to leave a review on your way out! I'll be sure to answer any questions you have.

Thanks for reading, and until next time!